


Meditation in Cleaning

by Merfilly



Category: Earth's Children - Jean M. Auel
Genre: Community: mundane_bingo, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-01
Updated: 2010-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-11 09:53:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ayla goes to clean so she can think alone</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meditation in Cleaning

It wasn't quite warm, not by anyone's thoughts on the matter, but Ayla was tired of being confined. The ice had broken on the river, and there were many items that needed to be cleaned and reworked. It was a simple matter to gather the leathers, even the furs that she normally wrapped Jonayla in, and put them in the baskets that Whinney could easily carry for her. Jondalar was already off to the flint workers' site, and Jonayla was safely guarded by both Wolf and Folara for the moment.

Whinney, Racer, and Gray all thought an outing was a good idea, with the mare guiding both her foal and her grown son to the riverside with imperious nickers and neighs much to Ayla's amusement.

"You wanted out and free too." Ayla smiled, enjoying the ride. Once at the river, she removed the baskets and set the horses to play, while beginning the task of scraping the leathers, wetting them only as needed, and doing the same to the furs. Those she knew would need to be dried near the fire inside, but the leathers would require constant working to insure they didn't stiffen too much.

Ayla didn't mind. She had so much to think on, as she pondered the path her life had taken since coming to the Zelandonii. Her thoughts turned over the demand of being a zelandoni, so that she could be a healer. It hurt her inside, deep, that her gifts were mistrusted and not allowed, unless she was one of those argumentative people.

Still, her need to help was too great to deny. As she scraped the last of the leathers clean, she felt the knowledge pressing inside her mind that times changed, and often they changed because of her. It was frightening, for the woman who only wished to be part of her family now, but slowly, she was adapting to knowing how to press and shape the people around her, much as Zelandoni did.

She just didn't like it.


End file.
